Sunday, September 30, 2007

Revelation 22:14

How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city!
- Revelation 22:14

How blessed are those who wash their toes… Wash their toes? Yes, that’s what I saw this morning when I read this. You can attribute it to my having gotten up far too early for my own good. I had a good laugh, but that little trick of the eye got me to thinking. It’s one thing to misread something, but what about purposely changing the meaning of Scripture to suit your own ends? Probably not a good idea, but it happens all the time.

We humans like to be right about things, and will sometimes go to great lengths to prove our point – even taking Scripture out of context and forcing it to mean something that isn’t even remotely close to its original meaning. While this might make us feel good at the moment (I won!!), the damage that it can do is far greater than that. Once the Word of God becomes something that can be molded to our will we are in trouble. There could be no end to the twisting and mishandling of the Word to suit our own needs.

Instead, we need to allow God to shape us according to His will. We need to look at His Word and let it speak for itself whether we like what it says or not – whether it lines up with our theology or not. Now, back to the blessed who wash their robes!

The book of Revelation is a fantastic prophecy of times that are yet to come. The book gives a structured timeline to the prophecies in the Old Testament that deal with the end of our age, as well as with the Millennial Kingdom. The book also gives us a glimpse into the age that will follow the Millennium – the Eternal Order. This verse is one of those glimpses.

The washing of the robes refers to those who have made themselves clean by the blood of the Lamb of God – Y’shua, Jesus the Messiah. Because they will have done this they will be able to enter into the city, the New Jerusalem, which will be established on the new earth that is to be created at the close of the Millennial reign. Once in the city they will be able to eat from the Tree of Life! This precious privilege was taken from mankind when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden so very long ago. But here we see that through the Last Adam – Y’shua the Messiah – that privilege will be ours once again. Oh, what a wonderful time that will be! I’m so thankful that God not only gives us what we need for today, but that He allows us to peek into the future so that our hope can be that much fuller.

Back to Under The Shadow Of His Wing

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